Travel Manitoba's Tourism Industry News will suspend publishing over the Christmas Holidays beginning today, and resume service on January 2.

On behalf of all Travel Manitoba staff, we would like to thank you for your continued support; and offer our best wishes for a Merry Christmas, and a safe and happy New Year!

Parks Canada wants to open up Manitoba's biggest park, best known for its polar bears, to canoe and kayak tour operators.

It's looking for businesses to offer tours on the Owl River in Wapusk National Park during June, when the bears have not yet come off the ice.

It's the first step in increasing visitors to the remote, located on the shore of Hudson Bay, just south of Churchill in Manitoba's far northeast.

About 125 people a year visit but acting Supt. Sheldon Kowalchuk notes the passenger train to Churchill makes a stop close to the Owl River, which could be the starting point for a canoe trip.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/12/20/mb-wapusk-park-open-owl-river-tours-manitoba.html

Several new attractions, including the giant IKEA store and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, will help keep tourism traffic growing at a steady pace over the next four years, according to a new forecast from the Conference Board of Canada.

The Ottawa-based think-tank said the number of overnight visits to Manitoba is expected to rise by 2.6 per cent to 3.6 million in 2013, and continue to climb in each of the following three years by an average of three per cent.

More overnight visits mean more tourism revenues for the province, the board said.

It predicted tourism spending will grow by 5.1 per cent to $1.14 billion in 2013, and continue climbing by an average of 5.4 per cent for each of the next three years, hitting a projected $1.33 billion in 2016.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/tourist-traffic-to-flow-and-grow-184386771.html

Complete: Solid economic growth in Western Canada and the addition of new tourist attractions should keep the number of visitors to Manitoba growing at a healthy pace over the next four years, according to a new forecast from the Conference Board of Canada.

The Ottawa-based think tank said the number of overnight visits to the province is expected to rise by 2.6 per cent to 3.6 million in 2013, and continue to climb in each of the following three years by an average of three per cent.

Similarly, spending by overnight visitors is expected to grow by 5.1 per cent to $1.14 billion in 2013, and continue climbing by an average of 5.4 per cent in each of the next three years, the board added.

"The tourism sector has benefited from strong economic growth and significant improvements to tourism-related infrastructure," it said. "Over the medium to long term, the expansion of Winnipeg’s airport should provide added capacity not only for flights from within Canada, but also for arrivals from international markets."

It predicted the biggest increase in 2013 will be in the number of overseas visitors (up a projected 3.3 per cent), followed by domestic visitors (up 2.6 per cent). The number of visits by U.S. tourists is expected to remain unchanged, it added.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Tourism-forecast-to-grow-at-healthy-pace-184289421.html

Calgary - For the second straight year, Calgary’s tourism industry has led the nation in visitor spending growth.

The Conference Board of Canada’s Autumn 2012 Travel Markets Outlook report, released Thursday, ranks Calgary at the top of nine metropolitan markets in the category looking at year-over-year spending by visitors to the city. Travellers visiting Calgary this year spent $1.4 billion at attractions, restaurants, hotels, shops, and festivals — an increase of 6.4 per cent from the year before.

Calgary and Edmonton are also in a virtual tie for the largest increase in visitor numbers, with each city seeing an approximate four per cent uptick from 2011.

“The benchmark’s been set high,” said Randy Williams, president and CEO of Tourism Calgary. “We’ll look at 2012 as a real watershed year, I believe — one that sets the standard for where we build from.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Calgary+tourism+industry+growth+leads+nation+2012/7729004/story.html

Airport across Canada are gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year, but a lot of Canadians are also busy wincing at the price of their flights.

Vancouver International Airport spokesman Steve Hankinson says the airport has invested nearly $30 million in de-icing equipment since a massive snowstorm in 2008 left many stranded travellers in tears.

They are ready snow and for the holiday rush, says Hankinson.

"We expect about 60,000 customers, both arriving and departing, to move through the airport on any given day of the busy holiday season. That's about 30 per cent more than we typically move through the airport."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/12/20/bc-busy-airports-prices.html

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country's economy returned to growth in October, although at a sluggish pace.

The 0.1 per cent advance follows a flat reading in September and a 0.1 per cent contraction in August that had contributed to Canada's worst quarter of economic growth in over a year.

The October performance, which was in line with economist estimates, starts the fourth quarter off on a welcome positive note.

The agency says the major contributors during the month were wholesale trade, which rose 0.8 per cent from the previous month, and retail trade, which increased 0.3 per cent.

Oil and gas extraction increased by 0.4 per cent, and utilities advanced by 1.2 per cent.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/canadian-economy-returns-to-growth-advances-01-per-cent-in-october-184415671.html

Complete: OTTAWA - The cost of getting a Canadian passport is going up significantly in the new year.

Without the fee increases, Passport Canada says it would not be able to maintain current operations, let alone offer security-enhanced travel documents.

New regulations posted this week confirm the cost of a five-year passport will increase to $120 from $87.

And starting in July 2013, a 10-year passport will also be offered at a cost of $160.

By March 2014, Passport Canada will also charge an additional $45 to replace a passport that's lost or stolen, something that is currently free.

The agency says it's currently losing nearly $5 every time it issues a passport, and has been financing its deficit by using previously accumulated surpluses that will run out next year.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/passport-office-unable-to-maintain-operations-without-fee-hikes-says-agency-184294881.html

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Most everywhere Lou Billittier turns these days, the Buffalo restaurateur is reminded of the NHL lockout, and its impact on his blue-collar, sports-mad town where Dominik Hasek became a star and the French Connection is still revered.

Billittier misses the familiar faces of Sabres players having their traditional game-day lunch at his restaurant, Chef's. He recalled a recent conversation he had with his seafood supplier, who's struggling because he also provides salmon and chicken wings to the Sabres arena, the First Niagara Center.

And then there are the arena's idled, part-time employees who stop in looking for work. With his own business down 15 per cent, Billittier can only turn them away because he's concerned whether there's enough work for his staff.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-lockout-has-chilling-effect-on-businesses-from-hockey-hall-of-fame-to-hockeytown-184326471.html

OTTAWA (CP) - Air fare increases scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, by the two major airlines and five regional carriers were suspended Wednesday until April 1 by the Canadian transport commission.

Air Canada, CP Air, Transair, Nordair, Pacific Western Airlines, Quebecair and Eastern Provincial Airlines earlier had approval for increases in fares averaging five per cent starting in the new year.

The commission said recent developments, including the suspension of an increase in oil prices and the November budget of Finance Minister Jean Chretien, must be taken into account to determine whether the proposed increases are reasonable and fair.

The Chretien budget made changes in the sales tax and investment tax credits affecting the airlines.  The commission said it wanted to see final operating figures of the airlines for the last few months of this year and their forecasts for next year, taking into account the new developments.

In a dissenting vote, commissioner J. T. Gray said the suspensions are unwarranted.

Earlier in the day the Consumers Association of Canada issued a news release saying the financial picture of the two main carriers showed the increases were not necessary.

The group said Air Canada and CP Air charge more for domestic mileage than they do for international routes, thus undermining the government policy of having Canadians spend holiday dollars at home.